# Show what you refused to buy

A money format, measured November 8, 2026 by Volume. https://tryvolume.app/working/money/show-what-you-refused-to-buy

Make the items you left on the shelf or stopped buying the content, each with the price or reason. It worked for 4 accounts, with a median of 13x their usual reach. Type: Angle. Seen as: Talking head, Slideshow.

## Why it works

Restraint is a relatable, debate-friendly flex. Naming specific products and prices makes it concrete, and people add their own examples in the comments.

## How to make it

1. List or photograph each skipped item with its price
2. Give the reason or temptation you overcame
3. Ask viewers what they've stopped buying

## Hook formula

[Number] things I don't buy to [save result]

## Examples

- @graceecol (35K followers, TikTok talking head): 63x their usual views. Hook: “4 things I don't buy to save 40% of my income” [Original post](https://www.tiktok.com/@graceecol/video/7702123528446954782)
- @mariana_themom (11K followers, Instagram slideshow): 21x their usual likes. Hook: “Nobody talks about THIS part of paying off debt as a parent...” [Original post](https://www.instagram.com/p/DeAAI4GGr-h/)
- @bethanyraeroth (160K followers, Instagram slideshow): 5.6x their usual likes. Hook: “Things I wanted to impulse buy recently, but didn’t” [Original post](https://www.instagram.com/p/DecjuatgcvS/)
- @fionamoneydiary (41K followers, TikTok slideshow): 4.8x their usual views. Hook: “Things I REALLY wanted to buy this week.....but didn't 🤑 (Former shopalic & constantly skint 💸)” [Original post](https://www.tiktok.com/@fionamoneydiary/photo/7689187314391731488)

More money formats: https://tryvolume.app/working/money.md

## Get the full library

The full library has every post, format and hook in money, plus long-running Meta ads, and your AI agent can search it over MCP. The library comes with Volume Core and Pro, from $29.99 a month, and every plan starts with a 3-day free trial. Start a free trial: https://tryvolume.app/library

Agents: add Volume's MCP server (https://app.tryvolume.app/api/mcp) and call `search_library(shelf: "formats", niche: "Money")` for every format, `search_library(shelf: "posts", niche: "Money")` for examples with transcripts and scripts.

## How this is measured

- Every post is compared with its own account's usual reach, not with other accounts. "14x their usual" means the post got 14 times the median views of that account's recent posts.
- TikTok videos and Instagram Reels are measured on views. Instagram carousels have no view count, so they are measured on likes against the account's usual likes, and say so.
- A post makes the library at 2x its account's usual or more. A format is a repeatable move (what is said or shown, or how it is edited) that several accounts used in breakout posts. It is listed here once it worked for 3 or more different accounts.
- Formats rank on how many accounts they worked for and how far above usual, damped so a fluke on one tiny account cannot outrank a format that worked for ten.

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